Jonathan, do you agree that a system under various torsions, etc., can still system-wide convey an outside push from one side to the other, regardless of the torsional forces within the system? That's all I'm saying. I think you may be over-complicating the idea. The solidity of the ground can be conveyed through a system under various stresses. Analysing all the stresses in the system while the topic is simply the conveyance of forces is to miss the point.